Humanity
by Gothic Rain
Summary: Clare had gone through a hell that most warriors hadn't cut close to. There were indeed consequences to all the things she had suffered through - mind shut down, her emotions erased, and even a change in personality - the real her hidden deep inside her heart. Despite this, the warrior has her will of humanity to keep her going; to live, move forward and stay strong.
1. Chapter 1

**HUMANITY**

This is a fan-based fiction story inspired by the manga/anime _Claymore_ which belongs to Norihiro Yagi. I, Gothic Rain, do not profit from the making of this fiction in any way, shape or form but the simple entertainment of my fellow readers, writers, and fans of _Claymore_. I do NOT own _Claymore_ , believe me, I do not want my story deleted for copy-write. That's not on my bucket list, thank you very much. This disclaimer goes for the entire progression of the story.

Now that the disclaimer is out of the way, I would like to acknowledge the fans and readers of the original Humanity which was rewritten into what stands as this story today. The reason for this was because no matter how many ideas my brainstorm conjured I could NOT place a plot with the idea and so I have rewritten Humanity into a new story which I believe should be more interesting in ways soon to be seen.

Note that this story is AU

 **Chapter One**

 _Tragedy Falls_

No one has ever asked her of her past and for Clare as a warrior her background is often to be believed like everyone else's. A yoma destroyed the town or a family and a little girl was taken by the Organization to become a weapon to fight the same creatures that had taken everything from them. Others like the legendary number One, Teresa of the Faint Smile were sold by the people she trusted into the Organization.

Unfortunately, for Clare, her history is unlike any other warrior's story. A past that caused her to shut her emotions off as well as hide the real warrior from the world in fear of losing another part of her soul to the world.

Her life had begun in a little town called the Village of Ame where it rained five days a week and never saw the light of the sun directly. Her home was a little cabin close to the sea only protected from the vast waters by the large boulders that pushed the green waters back. Like most families she had a mother and a father whom she loved like any child would naturally love their parent.

The person Clare was closest to at the time had been her older brother Hotaru however. The Village of Ame was no special case when it came to the actions of the villagers. There will still thugs and drunken men that haunted the night and the few nights where Clare got a little too caught up in fun when she was walking home her brother would be there to protect her from the desires of the other men.

At the time Clare had been given a different name from her parents, as she was their little Amaya which meant "night rain". Most of the children at the Village of Ame had been given names in relation to the village itself, and in Clare's case she had been born during a rainy day like most children but at night hence the translation. Her brother however was "firefly" for the little torch bugs that flew around the two remaining days that hardly ever rained and gave the tiny bugs an opportunity to come out and light the night in yellow, green, and orange lights.

To Clare's father, Hotaru made the day's a little brighter because her brother never let anything get to him. She's never seen her brother be anything but happy and Clare had always had her older brother watching out for her no matter what mess she had gotten herself into. Her well-known reckless nature had been as much apart as Clare from when she lived a normal, human, and happy life to a warrior of the Organization.

Like all warriors however that happy life would quickly be lost and come to an end. Tragedy struck on a day that nearly flooded the entire village. Lightning and thunder struck relentlessly throughout the day and by the end of the storm five bodies had been found torn apart in the streets. The storm had given the intruder, a yoma, the advantage and was able to kill without worry that the screams would identify its attacks.

Suddenly the carefree town was rendered terrified and doors were locked, windows boarded, and children were hardly allowed outside. Wife's were left in constant worry for their husbands whom went out to work throughout the town. Jobs had become scarce in fear that they might accidentally hire the yoma in disguise but of course the humans were not well versed in the lore of yomas.

The yoma could've been disguised as anyone at that point.

But the Village of Ame was naïve and unaware of the great danger that had invaded their town. No one was any wiser than the next villager. In Clare's case however, she was left unbothered by the tragedy that had fallen over the village when it had come to her going out to play in the village. She did worry for her father somewhat but didn't see why she should wait like a sitting duck inside the cabin of her home.

And so, Clare could be seen as the only child skipping through the village and playing hopscotch. She never got to play with the other children anyways because her older brother always scared them off with his over-protectiveness but that never bothered Clare. She liked playing alone because it allowed her to take her imagination beyond heights.

She would imagine that she was steed running through the village as fast as the lightning of the storms with her hoofs hitting the dirt as loud as thunder. She would be strong enough to jump over building or knock houses over (preferably the Hayashi family, she wasn't too fond of the twins).

She would be able to run through forests and see the world like she's never seen it before. She-

"Hey, it's the loser! Midori come check this out!" Clare suddenly stopped from where she was running and turned around to see the twin devils themselves. Midori and Misaki Hayashi, the black haired and green eyed girls. The reason these girls were always after her and making fun of Clare was because of her unusual hair color. Most of the citizens of the village have black hair, tan skin, and green eyes. The Hayashi family were perfect examples of these traits. Almost all of the citizens in Ame were also rather tall but they were not the tallest in the land.

Clare had been told of a village not to far from Ame that had pointed ears like the mythical elves and were very tall as well. Her mother constantly tried to get her to drink milk whilst saying her famous words of "milk makes you tall and strong" but when she looked at her brother who always had a bad reaction to drinking milk and thus never could drink it, grew bigger than most of the men in the village but was also covered in muscles from his work in construction.

As reckless as Clare was she was even more stubborn and instead of responding to Misaki's taunts as the girl wanted her to she merely stomped her foot and gave the girls an unimpressed look.

"What's with that look, tomato head?"

She smiled at the ridiculous nickname the twins had given her that was probably meant to be insulting but instead she had found it rather funny. When Midori finally caught on to her amusement she reacted rather like Clare had expected her to do.

"Saitei bitch! No big brother to save you now," Midori yelled before shoving Clare hard in the shoulder causing her to fall over.

"Haha, look Misaki! The stupid fool is trying to get back up!" Midori laughed before kicking Clare in the navel, knocking her back on the ground after she tried to get back up.

"As red as a tomato and easily stomped on like a tomato!" Midori taunted before pulling at Clare's auburn red hair.

"That's enough!" A deep voice shouted out causing Midori and Misaki to freeze in their bullying of Clare. When she looked up she found her brother quickly approaching and smiled despite the situation which made the twins clench their teeth in anger.

"Hotaru? Hotaru!" Clare said happily in sight of him. When he came to a stop beside the three, Clare expected him to give his usual fearsome speech by standing in front of her and advancing slowly on the twins as he would usually do. This time, instead he stood beside Clare and looked down at her with a look she had never seen in his eyes before.

"Go home," he told the twins with a fearsome glower causing the two to stumble backwards before running away without turning back. The twins had their fair share of talks from her brother to stay and put up a fight.

"Get up," Hotaru commanded after he turned back to her. Clare sent her older brother an odd look before moving to get up only to find a rough knee pushing her back down. "What-what are you doing Hotaru?" Clare asked as she tried to get back up again only to be thrown back to the ground this time.

"You can't always get knocked down all the time, you need to learn to stand your ground so others can't easily hit you while you're down."

"You're not making any sense Hotar- ow!" Clare yelped as she found herself on the ground again but this time with a bloodied lip.

"Get up!"

"Hotaru, what are you-"

"Stay on your feet!"

Clare grit her teeth in anger and when she saw Hotaru's leg lift from the ground to no doubt knock her over again Clare responded by dodging to the side with a roll and quickly got to her feet.

"What's your problem, Hotaru?"

Her older brother merely smirked at her before running at her. Clare watched his movement carefully and the moment her brother's kicking foot lift from the ground Clare leapt backwards but since she was no acrobat she fell on her backside rather clumsily. Fortunately Clare was quick to get back on her feet and rolled under her brother's feet to behind him where she threw a punch at her brother's back.

When nothing happened she froze in disbelief as she realized just how bad an idea her punch was.

"When you're opponent is stronger than you, instead of attacking head-on you need to evade their attacks until you can get close enough to land a fatal blow. My neck, stomach, or eyes would have been a better place to aim rather than my back, as my back is heavily muscled and unaffected by a mere punch. If you wielded a blade and were aiming to paralyze you would need great strength but it would do the trick."

Clare stared at her older brother and could hardly recognize the Hotaru she thought she knew so well.

"How do you know all of this?"

Hotaru smiled at Clare. Instead of answering her question he replied by swiftly turning around enough to lift his right knee up until it was suddenly in front of her face. Instead of hitting her this time he stopped mid-strike and stared at her expectantly. "Block," he commanded.

Slowly, hesitantly, Clare brought her arms in front of her so that her fists were in front of her eyes.

"You're blinding yourself and have too many openings like that. Cross your arms in front of each other to form an 'X' and make sure your palms are facing you. Ball your hands into fists but don't dig your fingers into your skin - you need to keep your fingers firm but relaxed. Make sure your thumbs are laying over your index, and middle finger. Keep your fists clenched enough to feel the skin of your knuckles press against the bones. You need to Keep yours arms extended but not all the way to protect your torso while spreading your elbow apart allowing your movements to be able to change positions more easily."

"When my foot presses against your block, you need to keep your posture straight - there, stay like that, make sure you inhale when I strike to keep your strength up and exhale to push some of the force off your body. Make sure your feet are planted firmly on the ground, the same way they were when you got to your feet after being knocked down."

"After I strike, you can either chose to jump back to plan quickly for your next move or attack immediately but you need to take the weak spots I had pointed out to you and you need to be confident in your strength. If I dodge or you didn't attack hard enough you need to get away from me as far as you can get because you'll be at disadvantage. Lift your feet off the ground and push yourself away from me by using my body as leverage. You need to move faster than me to do this, but after you've made your distance we'll be back on even grounds."

Before Clare could say anything she found Hotaru making his attack as his foot collided harshly against her block but her body did as he had told her even though she was pushed back a few feet, she took the dare and delivered an undercut to her brother's chin and neck before pushing her feet off of his chest to propel herself backwards although not as far as she would've liked and her landed was nothing to smile about but as she rose to her feet and met her brother's eyes she found herself suddenly thinking about Hotaru instead.

"Why are you doing this, brother?" Clare asked, taking large breaths after all her exertion.

"Because," she watched as he moved to stand directly in front of her, even though it appeared as though he was done with his attacks. She startled slightly when he placed his hand on her head and ruffled her hair somewhat. "I won't always be here to protect you, little sister." When Hotaru pulled away, Clare stared in surprise as her older brother walked away, completely confused as to what was going on with him.

He never ruffled her hair like that and never gave her that smile of friendliness, kindness, and longing.

Shaking her head she began to walk home, noticing that it was getting dark and her mother wouldn't be very forgiving if she didn't return home soon, and noticed the twins were staring at her through the window of their home. Clare wondered if they were watching her brother trained her but when she looked back she found that the curtains of the window were now closed and the twins had probably let go of their curiosity surrounding herself and her brother.

As she made her way home she noticed that the wind had picked up considerably and that the waves were building in size and force as they pushed against the rocks near her home. The weather only acted like this when a storm was nearing and it appeared as though it would arrive within the next few hours. As she opened the wooden door of the cabin and stepped inside her home she found her mother at the end of the room in front of the fireplace stirring what Clare was certain was lizard stew.

She had seen her father bring in the giant reptilian just yesterday and it only made sense that they would eat it the next day while it was still fresh. "Mother!" Clare yelled as she ran up to her mother and embraced her tightly once her mother turned away from her cooking. "Amaya dear, haven't I told you that I wish you wouldn't stay outside so long and so late, it's hard enough to see your father out and about with his work but I can't worry about you too."

Clare pulled away from the embrace and looked down at her feet with a frown. "I'm sorry mother but at least I had Hotaru with me!" Her mother looked over at Hotaru who was resting on the bench by the wall with a book in his hand and returned their mother's smile with a kind one of his own. "Yes dear, thank you."

"It's no trouble, mum." Hotaru replied before returning to the chapter of his book. Clare rolled her eyes at Hotaru before moving to the cupboard pull out what she needed to set the table for dinner.

"Hotaru, dear, would you mind heading out back to gather some firewood? I worry that this storm will be lasting all night, if not for a few days. Oh, I do hope your father returns before the storm arrives here."

"Yes, mum." Hotaru said, kissing their mother on the cheek before leaving to go fetch some firewood. Clare moved to sit at her seat at the dinner table having finished setting the table and placed her cheek in her hand after moving her elbows unto the table.

"Mother?"

"Yes, dear?"

"What's going to happen to the yoma in the village?" Clare asked suddenly causing her mother to halt in her ministrations for half a second before continuing as though her daughter's innocent question hadn't affected her.

Her mother sighed before replying, "Well dear, if the village's hunters don't kill the yoma or the yoma doesn't leave by the end of the week I worry we'll have to call in a.. Claymore." She said the end of the sentence with such heavy contempt Clare's eyebrows rose in surprise.

"What's a Claymore, mother?"

The woman put down the ladle before removing the pot of stew from the fireplace and set it on the table to begin pouring it into the bowls for dinner. "A Claymore is a half human, half monster-err yoma who was created by the Organization as they call it to slay yomas."

Clare looked up at her mother in curiosity at her mother's clear distain for these Claymores despite her description of them. "But mother, doesn't that mean that Claymores, even though half yoma.. well they slay yoma and their still human which means that they're good guys, doesn't it."

"I don't believe I would call the people who practically rob villages for their 'service' good," her mother said sourly.

Disheartened, Clare looked down at the table and said dejectedly, "Okay."

Her mother sighed and trailed a finger lovingly down her daughter's cheek. "I'm sorry Amaya, I'm just so stressed by what's happening right now and with your father out there.." she sighed. "I didn't mean to lash out at you like that, forgive me?"

Clare glanced up through her hair to look into her mother's jade green eyes (which she inherited) and found only honesty and love in those eyes and so she nodded with a smile before embracing her mother while whispering, "I forgive you," softly in her ear.

Standing up, Clare went to help her mother set all the filled dishes of food unto the table for four people and just as they finished the back door opened revealing her brother Hotaru carrying a tall pile of heavy firewood causing their mother to gasp. "Dear, isn't that heavy?"

Hotaru smiled at their mother as he set the firewood next to the fireplace and placed a few logs of firewood into the flames before replying. "It's nothing mum, don't worry."

Clare rolled her eyes at her brother while her mother smiled kindly at Hotaru. "Honestly dear, I forget sometimes how fast you've grown up."

"Grown up, please." Clare teased, causing all three to chuckle just as the door opened. "Father!" Clare cheered as she raced toward her father and physically threw herself into his arms. "Ah, my little warrior Amaya! Full of energy as always," he told her as he set her down. "Always have such a strong grip too, have you been helping Hotaru chopping firewood again?"

Clare giggled and pulled her father closer to the table where he was embraced by his wife and shook hands with Hotaru in greeting before they all settled down at the dinner table where the freshly cooked food still had steam rising towards the ceiling.

"Ah wonderful! The food looks amazing as always, and knowing red lizards it should be very flavored - even more so with spices."

Her mother smiled at her husband's chivalry before lighting the candles at the table to give the room more light. They ate in silence for a while after that but it wasn't long until her mother spoke, specifically eyeing Hotaru in worry. "Are you feeling ill, Hotaru? You've hardly touched your plate." Hotaru looked sheepish and scratched the back of his neck, something Clare was unfamiliar with. Usually he ducked his head and mumbled under his breath about their mother being overly concerned with him.

He had been acting strange all day though, maybe he was ill.

"I'm sorry, I suppose I might've worked too long in the rain," Hotaru explained.

Her father nodded. "Yes, that would do it."

Clare's mother sighed and got up to touch her brother's forehead. "Oh dear, you best head up to bed. I'll dry your food so you can have it later," she told him as she took his plate.

"Thanks mum."

As her brother left Clare turned towards her father. "What you do in work today, father?"

The rest of dinner went through with plenty of conversations that left all three of the diners breathless from laughter. As night fell entirely the storm had arrived where thick clouds hailed rain unto the Village of Ame but the villagers slept soundly despite this having been long used to the storm however the first strike of lightning awoke Clare from a restful sleep which was soon filled her with dread as thunder rolled over the lightning.

The yoma last attacked during a storm like this. She wondered if there was family out there being.. attacked by the yoma.

The sound of glass shattering downstairs caused her heart to leap in her chest and she suddenly felt terrified, so scared of what could be happening downstairs. Was the yoma attacking her family? Perhaps her mother or father had dropped a class after being startled by lightning or maybe a tree branch knocked through the window.

Yes, that was probably it. Still, she should probably head downstairs to help clean up the mess if the window was broken.

Slowly rising from her bed, Clare silently walked out of her room without making a sound on the floorboards and was suddenly grateful there was no door to her room. Quietly she slowly tiptoed down the stairs while crouched close to the ground to minimize the noise with her weight. When she finally left the stairs she crept towards the wall that blocked her sight of the dining room and fireplace before slowly peering around the corner, suddenly unsure of herself at that moment.

She was disappointed to see nothing but darkness but still she remained and tried to make any shapes in the room. The window appeared to be unbroken while the rain pelted heavily on its glass. Suddenly thunder roared followed by lightning and Clare opened her mouth in surprise but didn't make a sound as the familiar shape of her brother was revealed by the lightning flash.

She was about to call out to him, ask why he was up so late when he was feeling under the weather when she heard the oddest sound and also found a revolting smell sweep through the room that nearly made her gag. Curious as to what it was Clare decided to move closer and so she tiptoed down the left hallway that would lead her to the area by the fireplace separated by a wall.

Slowly she crept forwards with her arm barely brushing the wall before stopping at the corner that would allow her the perfect view to see what the heck her brother was doing while hiding her presence well enough behind the wall - although the stench worsened in her new location. Unfortunately, being closer to the window allowed her to see just exactly what the stench was coming from by the light of the moon that shone through the room at her angle.

The first thing she noticed was multiple white shards poking upwards in curves, the next thing she noticed was that the wooden floor was stained in puddles of crimson red, and lastly she saw her father's face staring blankly back at her as though he had thrown his head backwards as he screamed before his painful but sudden death.

Tears leaked from her eyes at the sight of carnage of what had become her father. Gone was his warmth and his love while in its place was the chilling touch of death and the pain that was left behind in what was once life.

Almost all of her father's flesh was removed from her father's legs and arms while his throat appeared to be.. gone. He was missing an eye and his hear was matted in his own blood but Clare could still recognize him as her father, even when his torso appeared to have exploded outward with his blood still pouring into the growing puddle of crimson.

She probably would've thrown up had she not been distracted by a muffled scream.

"Please, Hotar-u." Her mother gasped and as Clare crept next to the fireplace she was able to make out her mother on the ground with blood pooling beneath her arm that appeared to have been chewed on. The woman had tears cascading down her face and eyes were as red as freshly brewed wine. Her dress had been ripped down the middle revealing deep gashes through her flesh that were deep enough to cause pain but not enough to kill.

Her mother's mouth was covered by her brother's hand as he tore through the rest of her clothing and grinned, giving Clare clear view of his inhumanly sharp teeth. "So beautiful, I see where your little girl get's her inheritance." Hotaru chuckled and before Clare could so much as blink his claws dug deep through her mother's chest causing a muffled agonized scream before going silent and her body limp.

Clare's eyes were wide in disbelief and undeniable fear as this.. monster feasted on her mother's body like it was a deluxe gourmet dish. It wasn't until the next bolt of lightning that struck nearby that snapped Clare out of her shock and her endless shaking while her eyes narrowed. This wasn't her brother; this was a monster. This monster stole everything from her and she would return the trade by.. doing one of those Claymore's jobs.

She found herself annoyed that Claymores were only for hire, wouldn't it be better if they wondered around like mercenaries? That way they would at least be settled as a part of the village and ready for anything. Nevertheless Clare glanced up and found her brother's wood axe set on the counter top glinting at her as though calling to her.

It was too close to the monster though, and she felt herself growing anxious, and the fire next to her wasn't helping- the fire. Clare slowly crept towards the fireplace and picked up the heavy poker as silently as she could but it had happened to go unnoticed by the.. crunching of bones and digging of her mother's flesh. Her hand tightened on the poker in anger before she slowly crept behind the monster in her home, never hoping more before that it didn't know her approaching presence.

She made sure that her shadow merged with the monster's so it wouldn't give her away before moving the poker back and stared at the head of what should've been her brother. "Why so quiet, little sister?" A soft but deep voice questioned her. Startled, Clare nearly dropped the poker but she did lower it as she stumbled backwards when her brother turned to look at her, blood dripping down his chin.

The worse sight though was the eyes that looked back at her were not her brother Hotaru's.. they were gold and practically glowing in the darkness of the room.

"You.. you killed mother and father!" Clare couldn't help but shout although it didn't have the affect she wanted it to because a loud roar of thunder followed directly after her sentence. There was also the amused grunt from the monster that made her confidence plummet somewhat. "Ah yes, I tried to hold back you see, I really did but I just couldn't help myself any longer.. you all just smelled so good!"

Her hands were shaking, the poker was hardly even in her grip, and she found herself backed against the wall.

"But you, you were my favorite! So much spirit and recklessness inside of you, haha! You reminded me of myself when I was a warrior." The monster told her, smiling at her and Clare had never thought that something had look so wrong on the body of her brother until then.

"What are you-" Clare began only to find her mouth covered by its hand and recognized it as the same hand that had muffled her mother's screams before she died, screaming. "I'm sorry for deceiving you, Amaya. I should've killed you right away and saved you from this scenery, my mother always told me not to play with my food before my village was destroyed. I'm not your brother, he was the first one I killed when I arrived at this town. He was out chopping firewood and I was just so hungry.. I couldn't stop myself."

"Then you came and I didn't have the heart nor the appetite to let you see the remains of your brother and so I hid his body and made myself look like him. I suppose you reminded me of the sister I once had in a life long forgotten. It was cruel of me, I see that now. The selfish part of me wanted to feel human again and it was beginning to feel so real but I was reminded of what I was when I lay in your brother's room feigning sickness and an undying hunger enveloped me. I killed your father blindly and then your mother, because she saw everything. I was going to spare you and disappear that way you would look like the lucky one but then you just had to come down here and see me like this.." The monster explained, pulling away his clawed hand when he was finished explaining.

"What are you?" In truth, Clare had a hundred questions more to ask and none had related to the one that escaped her vocal cords. She wanted to know why he didn't just leave this night if we really meant little harm, why his eyes were gold or how he took over her brother Hotaru's body and had the nerve to strut around as though he were Hotaru after killing him just hours before.

But she also thought of how every little detail she sensed was off about her brother since the moment he scared Midori and Misaki away. He had a fearsome look in his eyes, didn't act quite as Hotaru did, hardly ate, was stronger than Hotaru, and lastly Hotaru never read books. He had too much energy to sit still and little patience for little work. He was so buff from being constantly at work and was always working because it was all her brother knew but also enjoyed.

"I was once a human much like yourself and lived with a mother, father, and my little sister. Then, a horde of yomas invaded our village and I lost everything.. I watched my little sister be eaten by a yoma from where I gazed through the cracks of the attic of where I slept. I only survived because of that crawlspace but my life was short lived in freedom as I found myself taken away by men and black. They turned me into a half human, half monster by forcing yoma flesh and blood inside my body and I trained as a warrior to fight the very thing that had taken everything from me. My home, village, and family."

"I had been ranked number seven by the time I completed the change and became known as 'Wind God Kaori' for my sword technique. In little time I had risen in the ranks and was soon ranked number three only to find myself on a hunting mission for the head of the most recent awakening of our number two. He was Rigardo, and a friend of mine. I though we could take him but he was stronger than anyone could've imagined and before I knew it myself and my team were down and Rigardo was gone. My team was dead and I was on the brink of death but I thought I could heal myself even as an offensive type. I was wrong and was quickly consumed by my own yoki power and had become the very thing I had hunted: an awakened being."

"I was no longer human and had become an entirely different class than humans. Humans were no longer something I protected but rather something I preyed on while killing the very warriors my Organization sent after me as though we hadn't previously been brothers in arms. I'll admit this life feels rather pointless even with this great power but after seeing you, someone that is quite like my little sister when I was human.. I-"

The awakened being sighed and moved away from her to give her a clear view of the destruction he had made of her home as well as the sight of her dined parents.

"This life had never bothered me before. I loved the power and the hunger, the killing and the chaos, or the fear and anger that I caused from those who caught sight of me. The Organization no longer controlled me and I was no longer limited by rules or oaths. People no longer feared that I would become a monster because I was a monster.. I shed my silver armor and my name to become something that was known to be unbeatable. But generations of warriors passed and men became too much a risk to be a warrior and so only females became warriors while newer generations proved to kill awakened beings easily when in hunting groups. Living the life of an awakened being had become much harder and while the abyssal ones began to build their armies I knew I would have little choice if they found me."

"And so, I went into hiding. Only feeding when my hunger became too great however I believe this is as far as I can go. I've become the very monster that took everything away from me.. and I can't bring myself to kill someone who reminds me of my little sister.. Saki."

Clare suddenly realized she was on her knees, sobbing like she never cried before, with her entire body shaking when the situation that she had everything taken from her by this awakened being. Her brother had long since been dead and now her father and mother is dead. She had seen this awakened being monster kill her mother and now it had the nerve to tell her his life story.. to tell her he lost his will to kill by the sight of her seeing him take everything away from her.

Why did he have to come to this village? Why did he have to see her brother as the first human to have as breakfast? Why did he have to become her brother for her sake and kill her parents after being reminded so much of his own family when he had been human. Why did he have to be so human when he was such a terrible monster?

The awakened being sighed in front of her from where he stood at the end of the room. She looked up when something thumped on the ground in front of her and saw her brother's axe lying innocently in front of her with the monster turned back at her.

"I can't end my own life but you can. I don't wish to live this life anymore. My body may no longer be human and perhaps even my mind is too far gone, but I like to believe that my soul is still as human as when I was born. Kill me, little sister so I may rejoin my family, please."

Clare stared at the monster in complete confusion and had never felt so lost before. The world no longer felt like reality, it had become a fantasy with everything so unreal. Her life had been turned around and everything she had ever known or loved was gone within the roar of the storm.

"When I take my true form I will have to use everything I have - all my willpower - to hold my instinct back. Like all awakened beings or yoma alike taking me head would leave me immobile but my body is as much alive even when my head is gone so you'll need to destroy my most vulnerable place in my body, my heart you could call it. Destroy my yoma heart and free my human soul, that is what I ask of you, little sister. You'll find my yoma heart as my spine, severing it in half with that axe and I'll be paralyzed. You'll need to take my head straight after because my awakened body regenerates quickly."

"I can't, I-"

Hotaru smiled at her before ruffling her hair causing her to still her sentence as she stared up at him. This wasn't Hotaru but she knew that this wasn't the monster that had killed her family either. This was Kaori: his human soul.

She swallowed before nodding at him causing him to step back after releasing her. She watched as his body turned grey as his body grew in muscle and depth, his size growing and transforming as a wind swept through the room that was his yoki aura. It was suffocating and heavy but Clare found herself standing strong, stubborn, and breathing.

The roof of her home was destroyed as well as the walls of her home as Kaori took on his true form as an awakened being, towering over her in size while his body had turned into a creature so far from human that Clare knew this was no longer a human at all. And yet, he did as he said and didn't attack her, holding himself back with his human soul.

He appeared to have an awakened form of a furless and heavily build fox with armored skin and claws so long and sharp that Clare couldn't imagine what would happen to her if those claws so much as touched her. His golden eyes stared back at her full of intellect and power, standing so tall that is spine was practically unreachable. Was she supposed to somehow climb up his body?

The awakened being then kneeled, allowing Clare to much more easily see his spine and suddenly filled with determination she reached down and picked up the heavy axe. Grateful that she often went out to help her brother chop wood with the axe now settled in her hands, she found herself carrying the wood and steel over her shoulder as she ran over towards Kaori as fast as she could before grabbing the armored flesh of his awakened being form.

She climbed up his body slowly, trying not to loose her grip or the axe as she held it close to her body, and clenched her teeth as she climbed. A part of her mind whispered if she was dreaming, wondering how her life had changed so drastically that she would find herself climbing up the body of an awakened being to kill it because it asked her to.

A voice stopped her musings though when she was halfway up his body. "Hurry, I can't hold on much.. longer."

Nodding, she hurried her pace up Kaori's body without much thought after that and soon found herself standing on his back. Vibrations went through her feet with every breath he took and Clare decided that Kaori was still human, right now. And if not human, a good person because he had the conscious to hold himself back and feel remorse: a classic human emotion.

"Do it," the awakened being growled.

"Arg!" Clare brought the axe down and hardly made a dent but continued to bring the wood axe down repeatedly despite the sweat growing on her forehead and her body suddenly covered in aching pain. She brought the axe down a final time and let out a sigh of relief when she heard the bone snap and the awakened being let out a roar of agony before his entire body went slack - paralyzed.

She looked down at her body and found it stained in purple blood before - as though in shock - walking towards the neck of this foxlike body. When she reached it, Clare found herself grateful to discover that rather than needing to chop through its entire neck there were three thick strands that connected its head to its body and by severing them Kaori would be beheaded.

As Clare pushed her body to its limits as she brought the axe down repeatedly she wondered what kind of weapon warriors used to slay yoma. Were they wielding Claymores? That would explain the name but then is that what they're called or do they just call themselves 'warriors' as Kaori explained. By the time the second strand was cut her body collapsed backwards and her chest heaved as she tried to catch her breath.

Her dress was now stained purple in his blood where no speck of pink could be seen as its original color. Sweat was stinging her eyes and her face was read from exertion. Clare remembered Kaori's words to her, his commands to get up and with a push on shaky arms and legs she found herself wobbling to stand, but she did succeed.

However when she went to pick up the axe she found all the strength in her arms gone, not even her shoulders could be felt under its strain. Turning back towards its neck after abandoning the axe as a lost cause she tried to tug at the strands with her hands but when that proved to be useless she fell to her knees and cried.

"I don't know what to do!" She sobbed having never felt so helpless in her entire life.

"Amaya," Kaori whispered in his soft, deep voice causing her to look up from her tears. "Don't cry," he said in his growling voice and yet despite this, Kaori came off as really kind to Clare. "When you had a human body, I imagine you were a nice guy, like Hotaru." Clare whispered as she wiped her tears away.

Clare couldn't see it but the awakening being smiled somewhat despite its paralyzed state and closed his eyes with a soft but pleasant sigh.

"Thank you, Kaori." She said, somehow knowing that the awakened human believed in her. She could do this, she knew she could.

Slowly she lowered her head down towards its neck and did something she never thought she would ever do.. she began to eat away at the awakened being's flesh in order to sever his head from his neck. His flesh tasted absolutely foul and she distantly wondered how Kaori or any living thing could crave the taste of flesh if it tasted like this but she prevailed her taste buds and dug in.

By the time she had finished the last strand the heat of the storm had passed and only a light rain remained. As the strand was severed his entire head fell to the ground with a quiet thud while a soft whispered went away with the wind of the sea, "Saki."

Clare slid from the body of the dead awakened being and landed softly on the wet grass. She wiped her mouth before looking at the face of Kaori's awakened form and placed her hand on his muzzle with mixed emotions flowing inside of her.

"I don't know if I should thank you or yell at you in anger and fear for what you've taken from me as an awakened being. You said you had been a warrior though who had fought against beings like you had become. You always had a good heart, and I know now that you did not mean to become this. A monster had stolen my family but that was the shell of who you really were and I'm happy I got to see the real Kaori before you died. Thank you," Clare softly said before moving away and walked towards the sea, not prepared to return to the ruins of her home just yet.

When she reached the rocks she practically threw herself into the water and washed the blood and pain from the recent even from her body before peeling away her blood-stained dress and attempted to wash it in the sea. Realizing that blood was a stain Clare gave up and released the dress where it sunk beneath the waves before ducking her head into the water to wash her hair and face.

Once clean, Clare lifted herself from the water and returned to her home, grateful to that night that cloaked her nudity. As she stood in front of what remained of her house she suddenly felt like a ghost and imagined the cabin that stood just the morning before alive and filled with warmth. The fantasy vanished as she stepped into her home and stared at the bodies of her parents and though of how she embraced her parents the night they died. The love, warmth and happiness had been lost to the memories and longing in her mind, soon to be buried as the night turned to day.

She tried her best not to look at the bodies of her parents as she went through the room but it proved to be difficult. When she reached the stairs she slowly made her way into her room and pulled on a red dress, some thick white socks, and her most comfortable shoes before leaving her room and entering her brother's. She held back tears as she saw his room's cleanness before picking up his jacket and pulled it on, to remind herself of the man her brother had been.

She questioned for a split second if she was in a dream before glancing out the window and finding the corpse of the awakened being and sighed. Her breath reeked of smell anyways, and she knew it wasn't from sleep. Sighing wistfully, Clare headed back down the stairs and barely gave the room a glance that held the bodies of her parents before leaving out the door that somehow remained intact when everything else fell in ruins.

As she walked through the streets of her hometown Clare wondered how far she would need to travel before she found herself in a new town. When she reached the border of the Village of Ame the young girl hardly gave the place a glance before taking the first step into her new life. She needed to move forward and stay on her feet.

That's all she had left to live for now: to keep moving forward.

* * *

 _A/N: **I find myself writing this rewritten version of Humanity much easier. The story and life from this story comes to my mind like breathing and feels less like a chore and more like a hobby. I just finished watching the anime Claymore and found myself unable to finish it in disappointment. I know Claymore took years to finish but cutting the anime off short like that was just terrible. It was going perfectly and then the Battle of Pieta it all went down the drain. At least the manga was good, but that's how it usually goes. The book is better than the movie, the manga is better than the anime.**_

 _ **That's my opinion of it anyway. I'm a more traditional sort, you see.**_

 _ **Glad to find support!**_

 _ **Sincerely,**_

\- Gothic Rain


	2. Chapter 2

**HUMANITY**

Now that the disclaimer is out of the way, I would like to acknowledge the fans and readers of the original Humanity which was rewritten into what stands as this story today. The reason for this was because no matter how many ideas my brainstorm conjured I could NOT place a plot with the idea and so I have rewritten Humanity into a new story which I believe should be more interesting in ways soon to be seen.

Note that this story is AU

 **(Slight) Trigger Warning**

 **Chapter Two**

 _Tragedy Rises_

The journey to her new home was not an easy one. Clare couldn't risk any nearby villages discovering what had happened in her hometown because they would figure out it was her family that was attacked and have suspicion that Clare was the yoma. She had no money which she realized later on was a mistake on her part but she remembered what her mother told her and carried onwards.

She didn't know how to set traps, Hotaru was going to teach her how next week, and now that will never happen. She didn't bring a weapon but she wasn't so sure she would've been able to wield it anyways.

Worse, she felt sick every now and then. She imagined it was from eating an awakened yoma or was it awakened being(?)'s flesh and blood. Every time she felt sick she tried to throw it up but it was like a boulder inside of her. No matter how often her body tried to reject the foreign object, it was trapped inside of her body, and nothing she tried would make it go away.

It wasn't exactly painful but actually more uncomfortable. It made the child wonder why (once again) why anything would crave flesh. Kaori said that his Organization forces the children they take that have been attacked by yoma have yoma flesh and blood imbedded inside of them. She couldn't image that happening to her and she decided to steer clear of anyone she sees that looks like a man in black as Kaori has described those men as.

She also hoped there wasn't much consequence to eating yoma flesh, let alone an awakened being's flesh. She did know that she was getting skinnier by the days however. Without food and without appetite or the means to obtain food she's been starved for a week with the only water she drinks comes from the passing rivers, lakes, or occasional rain showers.

When she reached the desert she was tempted to shed Hotaru's coat and leave it behind because of the heat and weight of the coat but for sentimental reasons Clare couldn't bring herself to do what would benefit her. Her luck hadn't completely run dry however as Clare had the fortune to find a small lizard to eat and gained some energy from the meat allowing her to travel more ground.

The next place her feet hit pavement Clare found herself at the Village of Sai and was forced to remain on the streets. At first glance the citizens appeared to be kind people but when the child realized that was towards tourists and travelers only she was all but forced into the alley behind the village which was overall out of sight, out of mind.

There were mostly men and woman in the streets with very few children that were older than infants. She was the oldest, unfortunately, and that meant she was on her own in escaping the ogling of men despite her age and the glares with harsh shoves delivered by drug addicted woman raising a child on their own or handling abuse by the hands of their assumed significant other.

Clare learned quickly to stay off the village streets during the day but welcome it during the night to sneak into the houses while the families slept soundly to snatch food or other, the latter sold at the blue moon district. She knew she was trading with them by the small but noticeable blue crescent moon etched in the middle of a stand or on the side of a building. It was an odd system but it worked for her, at least momentarily.

Life was hard but she got by, taking only the occasional beating every few days from getting caught stealing or tripping over her own feet and getting pummeled by some drunken men who found her amusing, and not in a friendly way. Her once lightly tan skin was pale and bags were dark under her dull eyes with a small spark flickering within while green and yellow bruises decorated her once flawless skin.

Unknown to her, the worst had yet to come.

It wasn't an event day, not really. Clare woke up early from the corner wall she tucked into every dawn and began her every day ritual of scavenging through the alley, finding and selling what little trinkets she could find, before using the money to purchase some stolen food from the best thief in the alley. Typically overpriced but they needed to hold advantages over each other and survival was her main focus.

So, three days worth of scavenging gave her a small stale biscuit but that was enough to last her the next three days before scavenging for more. In hindsight, the girl should have seen it coming. Trouble was always lurking behind a corner for Clare, trying desperately to reach out to her and sink its claws into her - never to let go until her body is dead and her soul is gone.

And trouble came to a heart full of grief and fear, one that came in the most unexpected of forms. Noon was approaching and Clare was walking past the wall to her corner when she saw a man dressed in black, and to her fright turned to look directly at her. Terrified he was there to take her away and force her to become something without her consent just because she was living lesser than others and immediately stumbled backwards but by doing so she was fallen roughly into a large man who stumbled backwards into the stand behind him, flattening it and bringing her down with him.

Furious the stall owner and man reach out towards her and the man in black turns curious eyes towards their little scene and Clare's jaw drops at the sight of a normal looking man wearing brown pants, a white shirt, and black cloak served to fight the chilly weather. It wasn't a man in black after all but she couldn't remain here either way, not after dusting up a storm in a span of a minute.

A tug on her dirty dress was the only indication that she better get the move on and was forced to run out of the village as fast as she could with a heavy heart at leaving Hotaru's thick jacket behind hidden under a brick at her corner. What was expected to be the last of her worries only doubled when dark reached the forest clearing Clare had found herself huddled, shivering, and scared.

She was scared, cold, and wondering how far she could travel before her body caved with exhaustion. Because of her wondering thoughts, she was oblivious to the incoming footsteps and sound of hooves entering her clearing and didn't acknowledge it until the noise was literally right in front of her. "Well, look what we have here." Laughter followed the man's words and Clare glanced up startled and made a move to run only to be approached from behind. She squeaked when one of the men (the group being all men) touched her from behind and before she knew it she was backed into a corner - against the trees and nothing she said mattered and anything that would pierce the hearts of anyone merely slipped off the ice-shelves that once held a heart.

The night that she used to starve to gaze at became an endless torture where her screams echoed with the wolves of the full moon and soon she lacked all control; she couldn't see, she couldn't move, she couldn't speak... all she could do was scream, hear, and feel - god, she could feel. From the calloused hands bruising her sensitive skin, hot breath tainted with alcohol brushes the small blades of grass beside her, and other things she wished she would have never known.

As time seemed to slow and forever arrived through an illusion, Clare found herself watching through a rain droplet covered window where her mother busied with cooking and her father laughed with Hotaru. She didn't know what but she could hear the vibration of their laughs and the fire in their eyes that they passed to her.

She fell unconscious to the melody of it and when she woke it was to the freezing cold spill of booze. She coughed, struggling to breathe for a moment as her eyes tried to make shape of the blurry shape and once her eyes focused a part of her wished she could remained blind and lost in her memories of the reality she had awoke back into.

The man was smirking down at her, tilting the bottle away from her and back towards his lips which he chugged before stumbling away just before the pain hit full-swing. She knew she was just covered in bruises but her lower region is what scared her. She knew what the men had done but her body was prone from shock. As another man passed where she lay they kicked dust in her direction causing her to choke from accidently inhaling the dust before somehow managing to sit up and lean herself on the same tree she had been cornered against.

She was tired of fighting: of surviving. She just wanted a hero to step in and sweep her off her feet so she didn't have to walk anymore.. so she didn't have to face trouble after every turn. More so, more than anything Clare wanted to get away from these men that had robbed her of any dignity she had left. And so, she waited for strength to return to her aching body, losing herself at every brush of lips against her bruised skin or demeaning push or grovel into the dirt.

Clare had waited a whole day until the men had all settled around their campfire, tucked in their sleeping bags, and made a run (stumble) for it. She was terrified the men would hear her stumbling away and that willed her to run faster and faster until she stumbled into another village, Theo, where she was dizzy and slightly delirious. Ignoring the concerned glances heading her way Clare found her vision wobbling and then she was tumbling forwards - unable to stand any longer when someone swept her off her feet, into warm arms but Clare didn't have the strength to look up.

Finally believing she let her tense but strained muscles relax and fell away in the arms of the one who caught her, oblivious that her hero was a villain in disguise.

When she woke for the second most painful time in her life Clare found herself in a dark living room and immediately recognized the horrifying stench of decay and blood coming from the very floor she lay on. She sat up too quickly for her own good as her vision swam with color and only when it cleared did the door open and a group of men stepped in. One of them moved towards her, all of them noticing she was awake, and to her horror she found that the men's eyes were glowing gold through the darkness.

"Looks like we got ourselves a cover, boys."

* * *

A year had passed since Clare had first stumbled into Theo and she had officially become emotionally detached. Pain became as casual as breathing oxygen and in a strange way the young child preferred it. Unlike the men who stole too much of her childhood in the span of two nights the yoma that had taken her in to use as a cover fed her every other day and though small amounts it was more than what she got during her days as a beggar.

They would toss her about inside the house they had killed the last family and took their bodies as though a second skin to hide within the village and feast at night on the nearby homes. The yoma were smart to an extent, having beaten Clare's skin which was hidden by her dress (which had long since faded into a pink color with grey stains that ironically were once blood stains) with her back being their favorite place to toy with.

She was a toy to them, Clare had long since accepted that, and remained inside the house on all hours of the day. They never went to far with her unlike the men in the woods so long ago, but that didn't make the assault on her body any less painful or constant. Unknown to the yoma, who pretended to be the girl's last remaining family and were very protective of her (making sure the villagers kept their eyes out for her in case she tried to sneak out - which she discovered through experience), Clare snuck out when the yoma were out hunting to keep up her stamina despite her worn out body. She was determined to escape with her life someday; she was a survivor after all. There were some days she wished she wasn't but living was the only reminder of the memories of happiness that she once had.

If she died, she doubted she would remember those memories of happiness anymore. Either way, the girl didn't want to risk it - didn't need to.

And so she lived, and she snuck around the village. Clare traveled from the roof tops at the dead of night, hearing every muffled gasp and scream of the yoma's prey before finally settling unto the window sill of the local inn where the rumors milled about of the late night drinkers and workers (who also drank).

Their village was very poor and the yoma attacks had lasted for over a year, so Clare supposed she shouldn't have been too surprised when she overheard the news of a Claymore's arrival within the next few days. Finally, she could meet a Claymore and then she would be free from the yoma - Clare was sure.

As she headed back to her prison she had an extra bounce in her step as she slipped back into the house and stumbled into the broom closet that had become her room. She was half-way into a slumber when the closet door suddenly opened and she was thrown into the living room, where she blankly stared up at the angry yoma disguised as a friendly man.

"Stupid humans decided to hire one of those Claymores. Enjoy the freedom little human 'cause we won't be able to touch you when the silver eyed bitch inspects the village. When she's gone though, you'll be all mine again." The yoma laughed and Clare couldn't help but shudder at the familiar lustful glint in the monster's golden eyes.

"I'll cause a diversion and hopefully they'll cancel the contract, but if not..." Clare bowed her head at the threat, no longer hating herself for the movement of submission she is constantly having to make around these monsters lest she wished for greater pain. Even with this 'freedom' the girl wouldn't dare push it knowing her luck was as dry as the desert storms.

The yoma spit at her feet before walking away leaving Clare to shuffle towards a corner that allowed her visual access of the entire access and was determined not to be snuck up on as it was becoming exhausting and she was sure her heart would fail any one of these days from the way her breath would catch in the back of her throat and her body would spasm as though under a seizure for half-a-second before the yoma would begin their assault upon her body.

There wasn't much she could do as she wasn't sure what there was to do when she was trying to suppress the pain of her injuries or sneaking out and so she decided to just sit there and closed her eyes to sleep only to jolt when the door slammed open and a different yoma stumbled inside glancing hastily back at the door as though in fear and Clare startled in hope that the Claymore was here only to find herself letting out a yelp when the yoma seized her by the hair and held her up as a shield for this yoma.

"Put her down!" A voice growled from the doorway causing Clare to gasp at the monstrous form of the yoma but nothing in comparison to an awakened being. "You won't kill me without killing her too." The one holding her stated and Clare would've furrowed her brows in confusion at the situation had she not been resisting the pulling of her hair.

"He won't be the one to kill you," another voice said behind both Clare and the yoma holding her before the next thing she knew she was thrown against the wall where the room spun from where she hit her head and when she looked up the yoma holding her lay dead on the floor with its head and arm across the room and another yoma grinning over the body. "Sorry but we needed a decoy," the yoma said to the body before picking up the body and left with the other yoma leaving the purple blood stains behind with the head and arm.

Clare didn't know how much time had passed after that but the dark had seemed to disappear too soon to be replaced by the sun and still the yoma hadn't returned. The girl remained like this for another night however by morning she caved into her hunger and told herself that she had done it before and dragged the yoma's arm towards herself and held it up with both hands like a drumstick and had to resist the feeling of nausea as she caught a whiff of the yoma's arm's decay.

She needed to survive though, and she wasn't about to die from starvation after making it this far and so while holding her breath so she wouldn't breath in it's smell she bit into the yoma's flesh and ate it, making a face at the taste that differed slightly from the awakened being's but shrugged hopelessly and dug into the yoma's arm. She didn't stop eating until the door opened again and she looked up the find one of the yoma staring at her before breaking out into a laugh.

"She's one of us now!" The yoma laughed at her eating one of their own and frowned before pushing the arm away from her but the yoma wasn't finished talking. "Aye don't be shy human, it took ya long enough!" The yoma left still laughing while Clare sunk to the floor staring at her bloodied hands of purple blood in shock at what she had just done before the shock dulled into nothing and Clare was once again shut off emotionally from the world.

By the third and final day Clare saw sunlight for the first time in... well, she wasn't sure how long. The other yoma had already left to scatter through the village while everyone left their homes or work to see a Claymore for the first time with their own eyes. Clare was no different but she did leave the house under someone else's control (the yoma's) who hugged her close to his body but Clare was all to aware that she was being used as a shield once again.

When gasps echoed through the crowd Clare tried to search for the half-bred warrior with her own eyes without giving away movement or emotion less she trigger the yoma holding her to loose his mask and nearly gasped herself at the sight of the warrior who finally came into her line of sight. What made the girl gasp however wasn't the blonde woman's striking beauty or soul-searching silver eyes, it wasn't her silver and white armor which she walked gracefully in seemingly without strain nor was it the giant claymore on the warrior's back... no, it was the spark inside those silver eyes so similar to the girl's own she could've sworn her heart skipped a beat in recognition.

This warrior had a soul burned so deep with agony that it was chained so tight that the steel glinted in those silver eyes.

And only she could see it.

* * *

The yoma that had imprisoned Clare for so long were dead and her chains were severed but as the blonde-haired warrior walked away the girl merely stared after the woman with a feeling of... resolution. She had been saved unintentionally, Clare was not naïve. This woman, the warrior probably saw her as less than dirt but even then it was that feeling that rose Clare from her slumber, her coma.

She wasn't alone and she didn't care. The girl didn't care about being saving, she cared about surviving and wanted nothing more than to ensure that others didn't end up through the reality that slammed into her reality. Now that she had found another holding that agony inside of her, Clare was determined to unshackle the woman's chains that she locked so tightly around her heart.

Because it was one thing to survive around others who were oblivious to what reality could throw at someone and it was another to survive around another who was a fellow survivor. In other words, Clare wanted to know what made this warrior strong enough to carry it while reminding the woman - a warrior - what she was surviving for.

This Claymore unintentionally woke Clare up from her eternal agony and now, it was her time to intentionally do the same.

Of course, it wouldn't be easy. She had been tailing the warrior after ten minutes knowing the villagers were going to kick her out and the girl was honestly done with those people in the first place. Despite the warrior's elegance that made her stride seem as though she was practically gliding her boots still left a noticeable trail to which Clare followed tirelessly. The third turn around a cliff edge and the narrower path Clare was certain the warrior knew she was being followed and by the way she continued to walk the girl could guess she knew it was her - as in not a threat - and walked effortlessly.

Despite her tired and aching body (which was usual) she continued walking, grateful for her midnight explorations which seemed to have pained off, and decided to ditch her shoes which were too big and worn out to bein with, followed by her socks so that her feet could absorb more of the ground and give her body balance despite the increased pressure which could've been pain but Clare was hardly thinking about it as she followed.

By nightfall it had seemed as though the warrior had finally come to a rest and made a fire before settling in front of it, gazing as the flames danced. The girl recognized her posture; tense but focused. She knew she was there, and probably exactly where. Clare had come to have the same skill after living in the streets as a beggar for so long and later as a toy for the yoma. She, unlike the Claymore, couldn't afford to be caught studying someone else and so she learned to use other minds in searching out another.

Feeling like a lost cause herself Clare moved to take a step forward only for a flash of movement to leap over and behind her with a sword settled just over her collarbone. Neither said anything at first but Clare did look back to stare at the warrior with an indescribably expression. Clare nearly grinned at the warrior's tone, catching the warrior's expression in the reflection of her own blade, and merely rose an eyebrow at the warrior's cold words.

The woman was in the middle of what Clare could only imagine was a threat before an arm wrapped around her stomach and she was suddenly six feet ahead of where she stood before. Clare had to hold back a wince at the strength of the woman when she held tight to her in getting her away from where they stood before as she was rather certain her ribs were either broken or at least heavily bruised.

The warrior was confused in not sensing the attack but Clare knew that they were men, their scent lacked the normal odor that yoma gave off.. at least normal yoma. The awakened beings seemed to be masters in disguises. Probably because they were a different kind of breed entirely, a created being rather than an engineered.

When she felt the fingers of a calloused hand barely brush her clothing she immediately tensed as fear shot through her only for the warrior to no doubt pick up the source of her uneasiness which was promptly followed with faint terror before a scream of pain cut through the air as the warrior swung a claymore through his arm and severed its hand from the rest of his body to which made the girl feel strangely satisfied.

The men circled around them with lust and greed gleaming in their eyes that made Clare shiver but to her surprise the warrior seemed to be almost arrogant in her confident posture. Ripped clothing and sounds of disgust later the men fled with the one missing a limb promising his revenge against the warrior before the warrior herself departed with a promise of pain if Clare continued to follow her.

The girl watched the woman leave, a thoughtful glint in her eyes as she studied the departing warrior. Clare had seen how quickly and skilled the warrior was and had no doubt that the warrior could leave her staring at air if the woman really wanted to throw Clare off her trail. Besides, as Clare reminded herself, pain was as natural as breathing so naturally - like breathing - she followed the warrior.

By morning, nearly noon, Clare lost her footing over a small rock and fell over in what the warrior assumed was exhaustion. Then, the warrior gracefully jumped down the cliff side and the girl would've sighed if she wasn't so determined and easily got to her feet ignoring the faint heat rushing to her cheeks from her pathetic fall.

As Clare looked down the cliff wall she decided that if she could survive as long as she could than this would be nothing in comparison. Deciding that her legs didn't have the muscle to simply step off the cliff wall she instead leaped forwards, staring determining at the warrior's back as she continued her travels and inhaled deeply as she neared the ground with her legs bent, knowing she didn't have a wall to slide down to help her landing.

She clenched her teeth to hold back her gasp when she hit the ground and stumbled backwards slightly at the momentum from the fall before glancing up to see the warrior's first real expression other than dismissal which was a mixture of surprise and disbelief. Then, the warrior shook her head and said, "You're an odd one aren't you. Very well, then." Clare gave a faint smile at the acceptance of her presence before continuing her trail after the woman, only stopping by a waterfall when the warrior noted her smell similar to that of a yoma.

Sighing for real this time Clare all but dove into the water where she shed her dress to wash herself for the first time in over a year before stepping back unto shore where she accepted a melon as her dress dried. She would've offered some of her food to the woman but the warrior seemed lost in thought and during the time the girl traveled she hadn't seen the woman eat anything at all and wondered if it was a side effect of becoming half yoma.

Once dressed and done eating the warrior continued her journey with Clare only slightly behind her this time. They stopped again when Teresa pointed out the village she planned on giving Clare a home but the girl couldn't have cared less knowing that she would never have a place to call home again, she refused to even. When Teresa mentioned her name she tensed visibly and that's when Amaya had become Clare, in sentiment towards the twin goddesses Teresa and Clare.

Though she had the memories of the life Amaya had lived, the girl now had another life to begin as Clare and it was a gift - a life - she would make good use of.

And then, later that night the vengeful man returned and seemingly crazed with madness took advantage of the warrior's rule to not kill humans and vowed to make Teresa feel like a monster before moving to rape her. Overwhelmed with rage that the girl had no control over she suddenly found herself throwing a rock at the man's head hitting hard enough to make him bleed, directing his own rage towards her instead.

As he charged her the training Kaori had given her in Hotaru's body suddenly flashed in front of her mind and suddenly she was sliding under the man's legs where she grabbed his shoulders and flipped her small, light body over him when he turned around allowing her to wrap her hands around his throat in the process and the moment her feet touched the ground she tightened her grip and pulled, with the man's back facing her she had full advantage and soon the man was turning purple as he gasped for air.

She was so close, just a little longer she had to hold on and then-

"Enough, Clare. Let him go." The warrior was looking at Clare with this strange glint and the girl slackened her grip slightly startled but that was enough to allow the man a slight breath of air and realizing what she had unintentionally done the girl released him completely but backed away in precaution. Fortunately the man seemed to be distracted by Teresa's claymore at his throat and the threat she made hanging in the air about it being her choice whether to kill a human or not and gladly accepting the consequences of the former if she must.

After the man fled, silence hung in the air between the two until it was broken by Clare's cracked voice. "Why? I could've killed him and you wouldn't have been at fault."

"I don't want that burden on your hands, not a child's." If only the warrior knew what Clare had to do in order to survive in the past. She may not have killed a human but that didn't mean she hadn't killed before - hadn't known the feeling. That man didn't deserve to live, Clare was certain but still, she let him go.

Then she remembered why she was there, and it wasn't for herself. Not for revenge, not for her own grief or agony.. she was here for Teresa, the warrior. Suddenly filled with emotion Clare threw herself at Teresa and hugged her close, and told her exactly what she had been waiting to say all along. Both of them embraced each other after that and laid there for long hours of the night and suddenly, Clare didn't care about the agony she carried inside.. she was a survivor but she was also human.. as was this warrior. And even if the warrior weren't human, she wasn't a monster.. Clare knew first-hand what a real monster was, and she would never forget.

* * *

They had arrived at a village where the warrior tried to buy her an expensive red dress with tall boots but the girl found it impractical, as attractive as the fabric may have been. Instead, the girl convinced the insisting warrior - who claimed she had plenty of wealth for no reason - to buy her some pants and a stitched shirt. They may have been masculine but they were practical, and because Clare herself was satisfied Teresa decided she would be too.

When Teresa indicated her leave Clare was tempted to go with the warrior; shed her clothing and shout that she didn't need anything from Teresa so long as she could travel with her but Clare held herself back knowing that she had succeeded in reminding Teresa of her humanity. And so, she watched with an aching heart as the warrior disappeared from view and held back her tears as she was guided into an inn where she was to stay until they found someone that was willing to take her in however despite the kind offer that Teresa and the village had agreed upon, Clare was never one to stay in one place for too long (unless forced) and made up her mind to leave the following morning.

So, after filling herself with dinner unsure of the next time she would eat something, the girl lay on the bed staring at the ceiling lost in her thoughts before soon relaxing into a welcomed slumber.

The sound of shouting and shattering glass startled Clare awake at midnight and quickly leapt to her feet to look out the window where she saw the same group of men that Teresa stunned before burning down the village as they robbed it. She gasped when one man caught her eye before pointed at her and suddenly a group of men rushed towards the inn. Clare barely had time to open the window when the men stormed into the room and tried to grab her as she leapt out the window, barely managing to catch her hands on a lower balcony where she pulled herself up and tip-toed through the room and managed to sneak out of the inn only to be grabbed as she was passing a corner (always the corners) and met the crazed expression of the man she nearly killed before.

And then, next thing she knew she was leaning against a wall with blood stinging her eyes as the man continued to beat her and Clare was tempted to say something but was constantly being winded with every blow she didn't have the breath to.

Until she could.. and that's when chaos broke out over a massacre.

The warrior, Teresa, she killed them all. Every last one of the vile man stained the burning village with their blood and Teresa stood amongst to chaos with that look in her eye that Clare knew all to well, as she had it when she was going to kill the man that recently beat her. Clare was rather certain that Teresa tore that man limb from limb in a finally act of revenge.

It hit her then, Teresa had come back for her. She didn't need to be saved (okay, maybe she did) but never expected it.

The girl had a sinking feeling in her heart, having a terrible feeling that trouble still followed her and now that the Claymore, Teresa, decided to come back for her she had a feeling that Teresa would now carrying her unfortunate curse of bad luck.

She wasn't wrong about it either.

An execution team had arrived to kill Teresa after listing the reason for it but all it took was one glance into each other's eyes and suddenly Teresa had cut down the execution team (but hadn't killed them) before leaving with Clare despite being warned of what she had just done. The young girl tried not to dwell on negative thoughts and just relax around Teresa to enjoy the company she somehow had the rare gift of having and even seemed to have caught the warrior's known trait of a faint smile.

As they traveled between towns Clare studied Teresa the same way the warrior would look at Clare, although both believed they were being discreet about it, and found how alike they were even though they came from two very different afflictions. Clare never mentioned her past with Teresa even though she was tempted to. She wanted to know why eating yoma and awakened being flesh made her feel so strange, she wanted to know more about awakened beings and warriors, but even more so Teresa.

The legendary warrior wound faintly smile at her when Clare reminded the woman of something about herself, mentioning how she was such a trouble child in the organization and imagined Clare were to follow those footsteps had she met Clare as one of her own kind, only to give the girl a strong look that caused Clare to give a second glance when the warrior asked her not to get caught up in the Organization unless it felt like the only option as she herself was forced into that life.

The warrior would ruffle her hair or they would watch each other as one rested comfortably against a wall and supplied the intellectual child with information about her people while Clare would listen intently, rarely interrupted aside from giving a variety of thoughtful expressions that made both of them share the faintest of smiles. If not for Clare's slightly wild and intellectual personality the two could've had a surrogate mother-daughter relationship but instead they settled as sisters, closers than friends.

The companionship was nice and something Clare would've liked to have lasted for years however it was not to be.

They had been concealing who they were (more so for Teresa) in a town when a yoma made its presence known and Teresa stepped forward to kill it and as always succeeded gracefully. Clare was interested in Teresa's fighting style and watched the way the woman moved purposefully and calculatingly but in a way that happened in a span of a second with an experienced but precise focus of where to maneuver the sword all while keeping her body swift and angled in a direction that moved to quickly for the yoma to counter in time.

Clare instantly knew that Teresa had been fighting for a long time and that her skill had been brought as a purpose away from the agony.

And then she nearly laughed at her sister's expression when the villagers went up in celebration and thanked her happily, without discrimination. Clare imagined warriors got that a lot and couldn't blame Teresa's surprise but found it hilarious all the same.

They had settled in a luxurious inn and Clare was resting with her eyes half-closed when she noticed Teresa's odd movement and would've turned to see what her commotion was for only to catch her eye and shared a nod before settling back on the bed, her body unable to relax from the tension.

She kept her eyes half-lidded as she heard the familiar clinking of boots that Teresa's did similarly before the stairs squeaked under the pressure and Clare had to remember to breath when the door blasted open and stared in concealed amazement at the elven-like warrior's sword technique which was skillfully and seemingly effortlessly counter by Teresa but as Clare thought about it, her companion was merely very respectful of other warriors (or those that earned it) and pulled a mastery of poker-face.

A destroyed floor and a shattered window later Clare moved to collect all their gear before rushing down the stairs to watch the warriors fight each other fascinated (despite the blood-lust in the air) and noted the disastrous destruction the swings of one warrior's sword technique went while another's was more graceful and acrobatic. Then there was the one from earlier who wielded their sword similarly to Teresa's with a envious straight face and a sword technique that made the movements difficult to follow. Then there was another warrior who seemed to come out of nowhere at Teresa whom the other three (excluded Teresa) seemed slightly careful around while that warrior shouted about betrayal and the unforgivable.

Clare could see it with her own eyes but Teresa pointed it out to the warrior that she had great potential had she not been so heavily brainwashed by the Organization and then suddenly the tables were turned and one by one the warriors were struck down and rendered immobile but conscious.

"You already got everything?" Teresa asked with surprise to which Clare answered with a slight nod. "Well then, we best be off. We've caused enough trouble for this village." A nod and the two left the village, neither looking back at the wounded and angered warriors left behind.

Clare was halfway across the land with Teresa when an earth-shattering scream filled the air and suddenly the same warrior that appeared to be brainwashed before showed up and Teresa was forced to engage a fight with her while Clare remained watchful but shielded by a large and dense boulder. She watched as the other three warriors arrived but her eyes were much more focused on the powerful dueling warriors in front of her.

Teresa stated that she would make an effort and Clare spared a faint smile at the sight of the beautiful golden eyes so different from the yoma and awakened being's despite being the same. Clare wondered if it were the humanity speaking or just Teresa in general that made those normally monstrous eyes so beautiful and almost... god-like.

As the battle got more desperate for one side and Teresa began to describe the access of yoki-aura Clare was reminded of Kaori's description of warriors which matched Teresa's. Clare's eyes narrowed when she realized that the warrior fighting Teresa had unbalanced emotions and clearly suffered great trauma that not even she could see the warrior buried it down so deep she probably forgot about it with all the brainwashing and then suddenly all the warriors around the warrior known as Priscilla stated mournfully that she had surpassed her limit.

And that's when everything went south, of course.

Priscilla begged for mercy and as Clare studied the warrior she was suddenly reminded of Kaori and the sudden change of tone. From monster to human... and Priscilla had just turned that switch on, which meant that right now - oh, god - but before she could call out a warning Teresa had already lifted her sword above her head leaving herself wide open and then the sword was off the ground in a blur and the world froze around her.

She was screaming, screaming her name. It hurt, the feeling had returned. Clare watched as Teresa's headless body collapsed to the ground while visible power surged into the air around what had previously been a mutated version of Priscilla but when the aura disappeared Clare realized just how off the word mutated really was when the warrior had completely transformed from human to monster.

This was a monster; two of the other warriors were effortlessly killed without given so much a glance by their killer before the third and last remaining warrior lost an arm. Clare couldn't move even though she wanted so badly, she wasn't sure what she wanted anymore though and couldn't stop herself from watching while doing nothing as the other warrior, Irene, managed to sever Priscilla's arm before given what appeared to be a fatal blow as the warrior instantly slumped and was released.

And Priscilla was now walking in her direction, her golden eyes so far gone Clare couldn't even call them monstrous. It was more like.. lifeless. The warriors had said she was an awakened being now, like Kaori but so different. This was a monster on a whole new category of monster that Clare could hardly comprehend what Priscilla's existence had suddenly become.

She was closer, and closer. What was she doing, she promised that she would survive! So why couldn't she move? Any moment now the awakened being was going to kill her because she couldn't move, wouldn't run because she couldn't bring herself to leave just yet. How could someone be there and then not be.

The creature was right next to her now and then, she was gone. Clare watched as the newly transformed awakened Priscilla flew away before stumbling towards Teresa ignorant of the puddle of red blood - human blood, Teresa's blood, a warrior's blood - which she slipped on but still reached out and took Teresa's head into her hands and stared at the woman's face who was killed for showing mercy.

And from what Irene had said, the old Teresa never would've done that. Clare took away something essential from Teresa in exchange for her humanity and now the only person that looked after her after so long was gone. Teresa was like the older sister she never had and now she was dead. Suddenly, Clare's eyes grew cold. The girl decided then and there that she would become like her surrogate older sister so that she didn't have to watch anyone else she cared for die. Trouble always found and took something away from her so what would happen to the trouble if she became it?

Clare was done being human. All it cost her was agony and loss. She couldn't live this way anymore. If she was going to survive then she would live a life where she could make a difference. Where a little girl wouldn't end up in a life as messed up as hers. She didn't care about killing Priscilla, she didn't thirst for the awakened being's blood because she recognized the same agony in Priscilla's eyes that she had seen in both Teresa and Kaori's eyes though deeper and more concealed.

She promised that she would use this life with good reason and throwing herself away to revenge like the man who had been driven crazed after Teresa for cutting off his hand she knew all she would receive in return would be failure, obsession, and then death. No, Clare would live for Teresa's sake and what they had taught each other - what they told each other.

The girl would become a warrior under her own terms, under her own say, and nothing would stop her from being the best that she could be.

Clare noticed Priscilla's awakened arm lying not to far away and tucked Teresa's head under one arm as she made her way towards the arm before picking it up and examined it. Claymores were half human, half yoma who were forced to undergo the transformation by taking the flesh and blood of normal yoma into their bodies.

What if Clare put Teresa's flesh inside of her? Clare was tempted to have Pricilla's flesh placed inside of her but she worried that the organization would try to harvest her power so she chose the warrior but wouldn't turn away the opportunity in front of her. She felt what happened to her body as she devoured the flesh and blood of Kaori's awakened being form and even somewhat with normal yoma flesh... her body had already adapted to new things she couldn't do before like land gracefully after jumping off a cliff or could hear things that most people couldn't through long-distance or thick walls.

And now, she had another awakened being's flesh in front of her but the nausea didn't return this time for what she planned to do. She set Teresa's head on the ground before taking Priscilla's arm and placed it in her lap. "I can't believe I am doing this," Clare whispered to herself as she snapped one of Priscilla's golden claws of the hand of the arm. Kaori said that warriors were forced to take the flesh and blood of yoma into their bodies and as Clare thought about Teresa's stigma she had a good idea of how that was done.

When she would go to one of the men in black with Teresa's head she could lie and say that she was attacked by Priscilla as to how she got her wounds and with that in mind she used the claw to slice into her skin from her side to abdomen three times very deep and had to breath slowly to do the crazy thing she was about the do and with a lot of focus she cut through the arm and poured the purple blood into her open wounds only to hiss as the blood seemed to burn as it mixed purple with red.

She lay like that for a while, Clare wasn't sure how long she watched the purple blood mix with her own until her blood turned back to it's normal red but Clare knew she had just succeeded in doing something insane. And then, she watched with mixed fascination as the wound she self-inflicted began to scab until suddenly becoming bright pink scars.

Clare stared at her skin in wonder but awed and terrified at what she had done before looking back at the arm and closed her eyes as she began to eat the recent awakened being's flesh until she literally couldn't bring herself to anymore, even tried to throw it up but like with Kaori it wouldn't and so Clare was rendered shuddering on the ground trying to breath correctly until she could then stood, picked up Teresa's head like nothing happened and threw Pricilla's remains over the cliff side not wanting to look at the proof of what she had done.

The girl turned on her heel and began her journey in (she could still hardly believe it) search for the men in black she had once tried so dutifully to avoid. Her eyes had changed, now holding a look similar to Teresa's soul-searching ones, Priscilla's lost ones, and Kaori's longing ones. Her presence and what she held close to her chest drew much attention as she traveled unclearly through multiple villages until she finally caught sight of exactly what she was looking for and found herself (a little unnerved) in front of a bald man with circular black sunglasses which glinted as he smiled at her when Clare did something she never dreamed herself of doing before in her life.

"Put Teresa's flesh and blood inside of me, make me a warrior!"

...and knocked on the gates of Hell.

* * *

 _A/N: **I apologize I had to summarize so much with the Teresa and Clare interaction but I felt it would be needless to copy exactly what was from the canon so I summarized it with some changes clearly visible. I will remind everyone that this is an Alternate Universe story in case anyone hasn't noticed yet and because of AU Clare's different personality that's why I took on a different take with Teresa and Clare more like sisters than a mother-daughter relationship.**_

 ** _Anyways, Tragedy Rises held the most angst but the chapters afterwards show more adventure and self-discover than depressing and traumatic experiences. If anyone is here to tell me in a review why the heck I'm writing another story rather than updating one of my others I will say only this: My mind runs a mile a minute and my imagination comes to me when it needs to otherwise the story will end up terrible because I'll have no visualization of what the heck I'm writing. So, in other words.. it's because I write the way I live my life, scattered all over the place but worthwhile wherever I go. (Does that make any sense?)_**

 ** _That, and I'm also a very random type of person... haha ;)_**

 ** _Sincerely,_**

\- Gothic Rain


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